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Parish History |
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EARLY HISTORY Early 1880s The first Catholics arrived in the area from County Cork Ireland about four generations ago. They were ancestors of the McGrath family who still reside in the area. From this time until the early 1900's the congregation grew to about 40 members. During this period Mass was held in the homes of the church members. Late 1940s During the late 1940's the children of Catholic families attended Catholic camp at Rocky Bottom North Carolina for three weeks during the summer. The camp was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the depression. Nuns taught the children and many received their First Communion around age 13 while attending this camp. During the school year some of the children attended the Methodist Sunday school. 1963-1964 Under the direction of Bishop Francis F. Reh a sincere effort was made to locate property in the town of McCormick for a new church. It soon became apparent that no property would be available for a Catholic Church within the town limits. In February of 1963 Bishop Reh purchased the present property (approximately 18 acres) on Route 221 from F.P. Deason for $3500. At this same time the church in Greenwood was growing and they were building a new larger church. It was decided that the church in Greenwood would meet the needs of the Catholic community in McCormick. The decision was made to move the little chapel to McCormick. Once again the church met with difficulty when it tried to secure permits to move the building. They were denied by the highway department, saying the building was too tall to move. The community sought the help of State Senator Lawrence L. Hester and he secured the permits in short order. It took days to move the church from Greenwood to its present site on Route 221. Local historian, Bob Edmonds, was the construction engineer for the McCormick County Highway Department at the time. When the church arrived at the site, large trees had to be removed to get it to the top of the knoll. When the church was moved on to the property it promptly sank in the mud and caterpillar tractors had to be brought in to pull it out. The church was clad with brick veneer soon after its arrival. It didn't take long for problems to develop. After the building was in place, the bills for moving electric and telephone wires to accommodate the move started to arrive from the state of South Carolina- $1500 each. Since the church did not have $3000, they once again enlisted the help of Senator Hester. He took the bills to Columbia and brought them back stamped 'paid'. The original church, which was built in 1926 in Greenwood as a result of a bequest made by a Mrs. Joseph F. Gallagher of Philadelphia, was rededicated as The Church of the Good Shepherd on March 19, 1964, by Bishop Reh and the new pastor, Fr. Henry J. Burke. Many of the parish members attended this same church when it was known as Our Lady of Lourdes located on Grace Avenue in Greenwood. They were happy to have the little chapel to call their own. The statue of the Good Shepherd, located in the churchyard, was broken when it arrived in McCormick by train. Not to be deterred, the members repaired it and erected it in its present location. The cracks can still be seen in the hand. 1989 - Present The parish has had steady growth since the development of Savannah Lakes Village the presentin 1989. Under the leadership of Sr. Joan Kobe, DW, the parish now boasts 100 families and the little chapel is once again bursting at the seams. This has lead to a need for two services on Sunday and the desire for a community building project. |
RECENT HISTORY 1990s Father Geary at Sacred Heart in Abbeville was responsible for Sacred Heart and its mission church, Good Shepherd, in McCormick. Dec 1994 Fr. Geary was ill, Sr. Joan Kobe was assigned as the Pastoral Administrator for both churches. April 1995 Fr. Geary left due to illness June 1995 Fr. Lussier was assigned to the parish Fall 1995 Good Shepherd Women's Club was formed. Initial activity was to clean the church. Activities expanded to include fundraising and supporting other parish functions. Feb 1996 Joint meeting of Sacred Heart and Good Shepherd with diocesan officials to discuss financial viability of both communities. Bulk of financial support for resident priest came from Sacred Heart. Oct 1996 Fr. Lussier departed. Feb. 1997Request to Bishop Thompson for a hall at Good Shepherd. In response to the request the Diocese provided guidelines for any capital campaign or building project. They are: 1. Written request to conduct a capital project and approval from the bishop 2. Completion of a financial packet and Diocesan Finance Office approval 3. A Parish Plan which includes a Mission Statement and Vision Statement, Parish History, parish and community demographics and growth projections, and a conceptual design of the project. Seven thousand dollars was authorized to meet with a design professional. 4. Meet with cluster partners to develop a cluster growth and development plan 5. Meet with the Office of Stewardship and Development for assistance with fund raising endeavors 6. Appear before the Diocesan Building Commission to present the conceptual design, preliminary drawings and final architectural renderings after contractor has been hired. 7. Submission of Monthly Progress Reports During this time the parishes were required to do a Parish Self-Study as part of the implementation of a Diocesan Synod. The self study evaluated the church's ability to expand in the following areas: Prayer and Worship, Christian Formation, Evangelization, Social Outreach , Youth Ministry and Stewardship Church members were heavily involved in the study. Fall of 1997 Parish Self Study concluded that limited space prevented growth in all areas outlined by the Synod. Oct 1997 Retreat was held to attend to spiritual growth and begin consideration of future needs Nov 1997 Survey of Parish Property Town Meeting presentation which proposed full use of the entire Good Shepherd property. The proposed design included a church, parish center, grade school, nursing home and playing fields. The parishioners approved only a church and parish center. March 1998 Building Committee was established, all were welcome to join. A NEEDS ASSESSMENT was completed. The community's primary concerns were: Small and antiquated church No facility for religious activities, i.e. Reconciliation, Baptism Lack of health and safety facilities: handicap access, restrooms Limited space for a growing community of Catholics Evangelization, social outreach and education activities are limited because of a lack of minimum essential facilities Lack of resident priest Parishioner participation suffers because there are no meeting areas. Spring 1998 Work was done on a survey to get consensus from parishioners. Decision to wait until fall because many parishioners are absent in summer. A meeting with Diocesan Stewardship Office on conducting a capital campaign. Nov 1998 Meeting held with Cluster Churches (within 50 mile radius) to review each parish's concerns and assess opportunities for sharing the burdens. OUTCOME: Distance constraints inhibit Good Shepherd from utilizing the Cluster priests, parish halls. Greenwood priests are close enough but are spread too thin to support another faith community Pastoral Council was established to focus on the vision for this Faith Community. They began work on the Mission and Vision Statements which are required by the Diocese as part of the Synod implementation. At that time the Building Committee was disbanded. Jan 1999 At a meeting with the Bishop and diocesan financial people, Sister used the opportunity to discuss concerns of McCormick's Catholic community: sacramental coverage, space needs, actual and projected growth statistics for Sacred Heart and Good Shepherd. Jan-Mar 1999 Series of Deanery Cluster meetings were held to discuss possible options for Sacramental coverage. Our cluster includes churches located in Abbeville, Greenwood, Joanna, Laurens and Newberry. These meetings reaffirmed the need for expanded building facilities in McCormick. July 1999 A 7:30 am service was added at Good Shepherd. Aug 1999 A Town meeting was held, 60 parishioners attended Mission and Vision Statements were presented and revisions were discussed. A proposal for a multi-function building, projected to cost over $1 million was made. This proposal was rejected because: 1. the community had not had input into the design 2. concerns that growth projections were unrealistic 3. financial projections were not based on accurate data Oct 1999 Cluster meeting in Laurens again affirmed that Good Shepherd needed to provide its own space independently of the cluster churches. Town Meeting was held to finalize the parish Mission and Vision Statements using input from parish at large. Nov 1999 Revised Mission Statement was distributed to all parishioners. It outlined the goals of the parish community: PRAYER and WORSHIP To continue to nurture our faith life through prayer and worship CHRISTIAN FORMATION To foster and support Christian formation for all our members; bible study, religious programs in correctional and health care institutions, training in various ministries EVANGELIZATION To implement activities which will attract non-attending, attending Catholics and non-affiliated persons COMMUNITY BUILDING To encourage community building by providing social activities for interaction, the development of men and women's clubs, a welcoming committee, an emergency communication network and support ecumenical activities SOCIAL OUTREACH To participate and volunteer in service to community, especially the sick, the poor, the vulnerable, the homebound YOUTH MINISTRY To identify and reach out to the youth in our community who are in need STEWARDSHIP To donate our gifts of time, talent and treasure in support of our christian mission Nov 99-Jan 2000Each parishioner was visited by teams of Pastoral Council members and volunteers. The following survey was completed at the time of the interviews. *** SURVEY and PERSONAL INTERVIEWS RESULTS*** 127 Parishioners participated KEY QUESTIONS YES NO Undecided 1. SHOULD WE EXPAND OUR FACILITIES 100 25 2 [9 people said we should wait until we had a priest] PARISH CHURCH OTHER CENTER 2. WHAT KIND OF FACILITY IS NEEDED? 80 27 15 [5 people wanted to restore present facility] UNDER 250 250 + 3. WHAT SIZE IS NEEDED? 24 71 ADDITIONAL COMMENTS MADE DURING INTERVIEWS 1. "We need to keep an open mind for the common good." 2. Would like a regularly assigned priest - 47 people 3. Would like church in Savannah Lakes Village - 8 people 4. Concern about a small number having to support the new facility - 29 people 5. What happens if we lose Sr. Joan? - 7 people 6. Can we share the Lutheran church facility? - 6 people 7. New facility should include living quarters for priest/admin.- 8 people 8. Music ministry - 5 people 9. Enlist parish members and outside help on construction as Lutheran Church did- 7people 10. Get involved in local community- 8 people Some other concerns (less than 5 people) Saturday Night Mass-2, Losing parishioners-2, Need a deacon-3, Move to new location-4, Times of services-2, Need facility for handicapped-1, Expand but not now-4, Can parishioners help with transportation, housing, meals for the priests-2, Are parishioners really committed to work for the growth of the church?-2, More diocesan support for Sr. Joan, Education -4, Wasting money to fly in a priest-2 Early 2000 Pastoral Council visited neighboring parishes e.g., Easley, Chapin to obtain information to further refine potential building plans. Pastoral Council organized committees to carry out the Mission Statement and facilitate realization of the Vision. Feb 2000 Brian Kelly from the Diocesan Building Committee met with all interested parties to give guidance regarding the building process. A list of diocesan requirements was provided. Mar 2000 The Pastoral Council, in response to the majority opinion expressed in the survey and having reviewed discussions with the cluster churches and diocesan staff made a decision to proceed with plans to build a Parish Center adjacent to the existing church. June 2000 Process initiated to have road S33- S254 returned from the state to the church. Stewardship Committee was formed. The committee's first order of business was to develop plans for a new facility. Fall 2000 Diseased trees were lumbered Replacement of septic tank, improvement to existing pipes can be linked to a future system The Building Committee was created. April 2001 The Pastoral Council held a town meeting in which a conceptual design for a new Parish Life Center located adjacent to Good Shepherd Church was presented. Fifty-six of the 73 attendees gave approval to proceed with this concept. There were 9 abstentions. Consensus was that a Parish Community Center built to accommodate up to 400 people should meet our spiritual, social, education and community outreach needs in the future. June 2001 Road S33-S254 was returned from the state and registered with the county. |